


diamond heart

by WithYourRhythm



Series: MadaTobi AU's [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Sensory Overload, Sibling Bonding, Soul Bond, and Izuna is a little shit, in which you can taste what your soulmate is eating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29136042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WithYourRhythm/pseuds/WithYourRhythm
Summary: The history records show that the world has been aware of the existence of soulmates for ages.Tobirama knows this, because he had looked it up at the fresh age of seven, full of curiosity after having a weird taste in his mouth when he hadn't eaten a thing for hours, stuck in his room without having dinner that night for making his father angry. He remembers the hunger he had felt that night, how the taste of food he didn't eat on his tongue had made his stomach rumble even louder.Or, in which you can taste what your soulmate is eating.
Relationships: Senju Kawarama & Senju Tobirama, Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara
Series: MadaTobi AU's [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1085187
Comments: 4
Kudos: 149





	diamond heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skylarkphantomemperor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylarkphantomemperor/gifts).



> Hi dear! I'm your pinch hitter for the gift exchange in the Hashitiddy server! I tried to get this done as soon as possible for you and this baby was done in like,, 5 days I think? So I'm pretty happy with myself, because oh man, I'm nothing if not a slow writer!
> 
> I used the prompts "Favorite Character: Tobirama, Favorite Pairing: Madatobi, Things you love: soulmates, family banter." for this~
> 
> Hope you like it! Enjoy <3

The history records show that the world has been aware of the existence of soulmates for ages.

Tobirama knows this, because he had looked it up at the fresh age of seven, full of curiosity after having a weird taste in his mouth when he hadn't eaten a thing for hours, stuck in his room without having dinner that night for making his father angry. He remembers the hunger he had felt that night, how the taste of food he didn't eat on his tongue had made his stomach rumble even louder.

It's not like he was raised with the knowledge of fated partners. Later on, he had learnt that his father had despised everything about the subject of soulmates since his mother's death. At the time, though, he had been a young and too clever -too proud- child to have friends who would talk about supposedly 'true love' instead of science, and just like that, he hadn't heard the existence of such a thing until he experienced the first sign of having a soulmate: tasting what his soulmate was eating.

Now, though, at the age of twenty nine, with loads and loads of experience as well as countless research papers in his hands, he knows the  _ annoyance _ that is called soulmates way too well.

You see, the taste of sugar has been tormenting Tobirama for six hours so far. He woke up with it, ate a mild breakfast that he couldn't even properly recognize on his tongue thanks to the strong sugary flavor that refused to leave his mouth, and then finished a lecture. Now, stepping inside his brother's cafe, he's still suffering from it.

So today's been pretty much a  _ nightmare. _

It's not that he has a problem with sweets. He likes them, actually: He enjoys throwing a small candy in his mouth subtly between his classes, takes his coffee with three teaspoons of sugar, and orders a waffle with extra dark chocolate toppings at least once a month during his visits to his brothers' cafe. Even his students, who shouldn't have known any of his personal preferences apart from the ones that affect his classes, bring him boxes full of all kinds of chocolate when they are trying to suck up to him for better grades- not that it does any good for them, but still.

He can admit being a sugar addict without hesitance. No amount of puns and jokes from Itama about his 'hidden sweet side' can make him give up on the honeyed treats Mito sometimes makes just for him alone.

But none of these can make him appreciate having this sticky, sugary taste on his tongue for six hours.  _ None. _

It's kind of painful, at this point. He hasn't been able to taste anything else ever since the sweetness filled his mouth, not even his extra-minty toothpaste.

This is absolutely  _ despisable _ . It's time for lunch, but at this point even thinking of eating any kind of food makes him nauseous.

What is his soulmate doing, he wonders in the private space of his mind with a frown etched on his face. Are they being tortured with sugar? Are they trying to torture  _ Tobirama _ with it?

A pitiful rumble escapes from his empty stomach. Having a light breakfast had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that putting anything in his mouth sounds unbearable and yet his stomach protests to get something in it, he kind of wishes he had eaten a little more when he could.

This is awful. It's even worse than that one time Hashirama dared him into eating a random, smelly mushroom they had found during a camping trip- and that one ended with him being taken to the hospital, so that says a lot.

Another rumble comes from his stomach. Tobirama sighs in defeat and eyes the counter lazily, trying to catch a glimpse of his brothers in the cafe.

This cozy place -which was an empty, rundown building once upon a time- is where Tobirama spends most of his time outside of the university he works in, these days. It's a casual cafe-slash-restaurant that had taken most of the money they got from their father's inheritance to put together, mostly being managed by Hashirama and his girlfriend, Mito. Tobirama can recall having doubts about helping his brothers open up such a business, wasting the little amount they received from the inheritance Butsuma left to them, but his brothers continue proving his old doubts wrong with every passing day still.

The cafe is a nice spot to sit and take a break in. Tobirama is grateful to be wrong for once, though he'd never admit it to anyone.

He only has enough time to get a glimpse of Hashirama standing by the counter, taking orders from customers, before a hand taps on his shoulder. Glancing back, he sees Kawarama's smiling face greeting him.

"Brother! You're right on time, Itama prepared your drink just a moment ago."

"He didn't spit in it this time, did he?" Tobirama gives a quick grin in return, his gaze traveling over Kawarama's form and taking in the apron he's wearing. "You're working today too? I thought Mito gave you the day off."

Kawarama nods. "She did, but I thought I'd save up my break for later. Don't have much going on right now anyway." He turns around to lead Tobirama deeper into the cafe and gestures him towards a seat by the counter. "Sit, I'll grab your usual and be right back."

Humming out a reply to his little brother, Tobirama settles down on the seat, dropping his briefcase at the feet of the chair.

He glances back to Hashirama again. His big brother, listening to an old lady's order in front of the register, catches him looking and throws a wave to his way, grinning widely. He seems in a good mood, occasionally throwing in his own comments while chattering with the lady, the pages of the notepad in his hands fluttering wildly in the air as he makes wild gestures. There's coffee stains on his rolled-up sleeves, likely from another accident -he has many of them- with one of the machines in the cafe.

"Here." A cup of coffee is set in front of him, a sandwich that is most likely made by Mito following right after.

The sweetness in his mouth feels stronger now, and his stomach rebels at the thought of eating anything.

Kawarama settles on the seat next to him with his hands now free from carrying Tobirama's lunch, leaning against the counter and propping his face up. He blinks once, twice, "Hmm? What's up with your face, by the way?"

"Hm?" Tobirama lifts a hand to touch his freshly-shaved jaw consciously, "What happened to it?"

Kawarama shrugs. "Nothing, you just seem off. Y'know, grumpy and all."

"I don't."

His little brother rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you do. Did something happen at the university?"

Tobirama hesitates for a moment, trying to decide whether to keep denying or not, but his nerves have already been fried by now. He lets out a weary sigh, extending a hand to push his plate further away from him on the counter. He slowly slumps forward in his seat, folding his arms on the now empty surface and hides his face by the curve of an elbow.

"Ouch," Kawarama says helpfully, "that bad?"

"Even worse." He sighs one more time, because he's annoyed enough to let out two consecutive sighs, and wets his lips. By now, he can barely feel anything with his tongue, really. Even the sugary flavor feels slightly faded, and a numbness has spread out through his senses. The pressing urge to puke had passed around an hour ago or maybe that's the numbness finally settling in fully, but the nausea still refuses to leave him alone. "I'm thinking of taking the day off."

A sharp whistle comes from his brother. "Wow, I can't imagine what could've made you say these words. Come on now, talk to me, brother. What is it?"

Tobirama closes his eyes to hide from the rays of light managing to slip into the shield his arms form around his face. His grip around his forearms tighten slightly.

Soulmates have always been a sore spot for their family. Their parents weren't fated, after all, and their mother had never wanted to marry Butsuma. She did end up making the choice of leaving her husband, even if that meant she left behind all her children with their harsh father and the dead body of their mother.

Tobirama had never believed that she was right to think that taking her life was the only choice. He remembers talking to Hashirama after the funeral about how she could've just secretly taken them all away from Butsuma at the middle of the night, and that they could've had a better life together- but it had been a little too late for that, hadn't it?

"Ever since I woke up," He begins, but the rest of the words get stuck in his throat.  _ My soulmate has been eating sweets. The person I'm supposed to spend my life with despite never meeting them has been torturing me nonstop for six hours. An asshole who never particularly preferred eating sugary treats is now having a change of heart and they're taking me down with them. _

He settles on, "I didn't feel like eating." It feels too weak compared to what he's been going through, so he adds, "But I'm hungry."

Kawarama doesn't reply for a moment. The casual chatter that never leaves the cafe fills the silence between them, a domestic background noise with Hashirama's boisterous laugh loudest.

"So you," He says at last, "are hungry. But don't want to eat." His words sound as dry as a desert.

Tobirama winces. He knows it doesn't sound like something he'd say, he's always been following an efficient lifestyle, his needs ranking higher in the list of his priorities than comfort and want. It's just that, well…

Food has never been a source of discomfort for him. He only ever lacked it, and he was never picky enough to say that he didn't like a meal and wouldn't eat it. Now that it's causing a problem for him, he isn't sure about how to- ah, how to handle the problem adequately.

Eating a stronger flavor may get rid of the sickly sweet taste on his tongue, but the new flavor would be just as overwhelming after some time. Finding his…  _ soulmate, _ to make them stop doing whatever they are doing, isn't possible since there is no indicator on who and where they can be apart from what they are eating at the moment. He can possibly try finding a consumable formula to fool the nerves connected to his tongue, but, well-

There are indeed some medications designed for such purposes according to the search engine Tobirama had paid a visit before his lecture today. Side effects are a big problem with them though, like dampening the bond between the soulmates, or the loss of certain sensations, especially in mouth and tongue. He's no biology expert, his thing has always been math and physics, but those side effects don't sound like things he'd want to live with.

He probably just needs to wait this out. And once it's over, he may end up taking on a new project, like how to reduce the effects of a soulmate bond.

Because it will. Be over, that is. It'll just take some time. He can endure it, as uncomfortable as it'll be.

He will need to do lots of research. Biology never comes as naturally as math does to him, but it can't be that hard. Working on soulmate bonds will be harder, since it doesn't really follow the laws of human biology and physics as far as the current technology can figure out. He can be prepared in case something like this happens again.

He doesn't want to go through something like this ever again.

"I just need a moment." He says at last. It's all he can bring himself to say.

He feels Kawarama shifting in his seat, and a gentle hand settles on top of his head. He isn't one for asking for comfort and physical contact, but Tobirama finds the tension in his shoulders slowly melting away. The weight on his chest, restricting his lungs from taking in fresh air ever since he woke up with sugary flavor etched at the back of his tongue, slowly gives away.

"It'll be okay," His little brother hums, "Just take a deep breath, brother."

The hand leaves from his head for a moment. Tobirama loosens up the barrier that his arms are forming around his face to see Kawarama reaching in front of him to grab the sandwich plate. His little brother takes away the lunch Mito had prepared for him away, and he can't see what Kawarama is doing from the small gap between his arms, but his ears barely manage to catch a sound between the conversations of the customers.

It's the sound of the plate being set down on the counter, far away from him.

"Take your time." Kawarama says one more time, and the hand returns back to go through his hair, warm and kind. "There's no rush."

Tobirama had always been the smartest in their family, but at that moment, Kawarama seems much wiser than he could ever hope to be.

"Thank you." He manages to whisper out. It sounds shaky at best to his own ears, and for a moment, he isn't sure if Kawarama hears him- but then the hand slides down his neck to reach to his back and rub small circles.

Tobirama tightens his arms around his face one more time and tries to make the tears brimming in his eyes disappear. He doesn't entirely succeed, but Kawarama says nothing about his slightly trembling frame. Suddenly his day feels a lot better compared to what he had been thinking it to be.

He decides to get his little brother an extra gift for his birthday. It sounds like a fair trade.

\--

Miles and miles away, in a small cottage built for a nice holiday in the woods, Madara loudly curses to his brother one more time and stuffs another olive-sized candy in his mouth. He has five empty candy bags in front of him, only the four of them empty.

"You're gonna be so fat!" Izuna howls on the couch, his face tomato-red from laughing non stop for so long. "I can't breathe! Oh my god, bet you wish you didn't bet against me- your soulmate must  _ hate _ you right now!"

_ They must've, _ Madara thinks to himself, and grabs the still-full cand bag to throw it to his annoying little brother's head. They must've, because Madara really, really hates his brother at this moment for making him eat these as well. He can't imagine what they must be thinking- maybe  _ 'My fated beloved is a fucking sugar-addicted lunatic!' _ or something along the lines.

Well. Maybe this will teach them not to drink their coffee  _ that _ sweet, because  _ that's  _ a crime and Madara would've thought his soulmate out of all people would know this.

It's okay, though- he can tell that to them himself when they meet for the first time. There's no rush.

He can wait.


End file.
